Heavy duty article carrier

ABSTRACT

A basket style article carrier having bottom, side and end walls and a multi-ply medial longitudinal partition and handle structure secured at its ends along vertical fold lines disposed medially of the end walls is strengthened in a transverse direction by a transverse partition strut which is foldably joined along a downwardly inclined fold line to the outer portion of each one of a plurality of conventional partition strips which extend between the side walls and the longitudinal partition and handle structure so as to provide transverse reinforcement and article separation. Longitudinal reinforcement is provided in the form of a longitudinal panel foldably joined to the end wall at one end of the carrier medially thereof and which extends inwardly and into overlapping relationship with a pair of inwardly extending riser panels foldably joined to the end wall at the opposite end of the carrier.

United States Patent Stout Nov. 4, 1975 HEAVY DUTY ARTICLE CARRIER [57] ABSTRACT [75] Inventor: James T. Stout, Acworth, Ga.

A basket style article carrier having bottom, side and [73] Asslgnee' g s Corporation Dayton end walls and a multi-ply medial longitudinal partition and handle structure secured at its ends along vertical [22] Filed: Sept. 25, 1974 fold lines disposed medially of the end walls is 21 A l. N strengthened in a transverse direction by a transverse pp 0 50900l partition strut which is foldably JOlIlBd along a downwardly inclined fold line to the outer portion of each [52] US. Cl 206/187; 206/191 one of a plurality of conventional partition strips [51] Int. Cl. B65D 75/00 which extend between the side walls and the longitudi- [58] Field of Search 206/170l79, nal partition and handle structure so as to provide 206/l80l89 transverse reinforcement and article separation. Longitudinal reinforcement is provided in the form of a [56] References Cited longitudinal panel foldably joined to the end wall at UNITED STATES PATENTS one end of the carrier medially thereof and which ex- 2,7'17,097 9/1955 Arneson 206/l88 X tends inwardly and into Overlapping relationship with 3,335,905 8/1967 Amesonm 2O6/187 a pair of inwardly extending riser panels foldably 3,669,306 6/1972 Forrer t. 206/188 joined to the end Wall at the Opposite end of the 6/1973 Harrelson 206/173 Tier- Primary Examiner-William I. Price Assistant Examiner-Stephen Marcus Attorney, Agent, or FirmWalter M. Rodgers 5 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures U.S. Patent Nov. 4, 1975 Sheet 1 of 3 3,917,061

US. Patent Nov. 4, 1975 Sheet 2 of3 3,917,061

FIG. 3

U.S. Patent Nov. 4, 1975 Sheet 3 of3 3,917,061

FIG. 6

FIG. 5

FIG. 7

HEAVY DUTY ARTICLE CARRIER Development of the so-called screw-on resealable bottle cap and the attendant trend toward larger and larger bottles has resulted in the imposition of substantial weight which must be supported and carried by the handle and partition structure of basket style carriers. Conventional basket carriers are efficient and sufficiently sturdy to accommodate small and medium sized bottles but simply are not sufficiently strong to accommodate large bottles such as 32, 48 and 64 02. bottles which are in common use today.

According to this invention a basket style article carrier having bottom, side and end walls together with a medial longitudinal partition and handle structure is reinforced in a transverse direction by a conventional partition strip and, in addition, a supplementary transverse partition strut is foldably joined to each partition strip and is secured at each side edge thereof by glue flaps which affix the strut to both the side walls and to the longitudinal partition and handle structure. According to another facet of the invention, a basket style carrier is reinforced in the longitudinal direction by means of a longitudinal panel which is formed integrally with an inner handle panel and which is foldably joined to the end wall at one end of the carrier and which is secured in overlapping relation with medial inwardly extending riser panels which are foldably joined to the end wall at the other end of the carrier. The carrier is formed from a single unitary blank.

For a better understanding of the invention reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which FIG. 1 is a perspective view ofa set-up carrier formed according to this invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the blank from which the carrier shown in FIG. 1 is formed and in which FIGS. 3-7 inclusive represent sequential gluing and folding operations through which the blank of FIG. 2 is manipulated in order to form the completed and collapsed carrier as shown in FIG. 7.

In the drawings the numeral 1 designates the bottom wall which is foldably joined along fold line 2 to side wall 3 and which is provided with a medial fold line 4. End wall panel 5 is foldably joined along fold line 6 to one end of side wall 3 while end wall panel 7 is foldably joined along fold line 8 to the opposite end of side wall 3. A riser panel 9 is foldably joined along fold line 10 to the medial edge of end wall panel 5 and handle panel 11 having hand gripping aperture 12 formed therein is provided with a portion 13 having a locking notch 14 therein. Panel 11,13 is foldably joind to end wall panel 7 along fold line 15.

Outer handle panel 16 is foldably joined to riser panel 9 along fold line 10 and is provided with a hand gripping aperture 17. A transverse partition strip 18 is foldably joined to outer handle panel 16 along vertical fold line 19 and at its outer end partition strip 18 is foldably joined to side wall 3 along vertical fold line 20.

According to one feature of this invention, transverse partition strut 21 is foldably joined to transverse partition strip 18 along downwardly inclined fold line 22. Glue flap 23 is foldably joined to transverse partition strut 21 along fold line 24. Glue flap 23 is also foldably joined to side wall 3 along a fold line 25 which as is apparent in FIG. 2 is disposed in alignment with fold line 22. At the opposite side edge of transverse partition strut 21 a glue flap 26 is foldably joined to partition strut 21 along fold line 27.

The other side of the blank is similar to that already described and includes an outer handle panel 28 which is foldably joined to outer handle panel 16 along fold line 29 and is provided with a hand gripping aperture 30. A riser panel 31 is foldably joined to outer handle panel 28 along fold line 32 and to end wall panel 33 along fold line 32. End wall panel 33 is foldably joined to side wall 34 along fold line 35 and a transverse partition strip 36 is foldably joined to outer handle panel 28 along vertical fold line 37 and to side wall 34 along vertical fold line 38. End wall panel 39 is foldably joined along fold line 40 to an end edge of side wall 34 and handle panel 41 having hand gripping aperture 42 formed therein is foldably joined to end wall panel 39 along fold line 43. Inner handle panel 41 is also foldably joined to inner handle panel 12 along aligned fold lines 44 and 45 which for convenience are separated by slit 46. A locking notch 47 is formed in the lower portion of downwardly extending medial longitudinal part 48 of handle panel 41. A glue flap 49 is foldably joined to side wall 34 along a fold line 50.

In accordance with one facet of this invention, a transverse partition strut 51 is foldably joined along downwardly inclined fold line 52 to the outer portion of transverse partition strip 36. A glue flap 53 is foldably joined along fold line 54 to the inner side edge of partition strut 51 and a glue flap 55 is foldably joined to transverse partition strut 51 along a fold line 56 and to side wall 34 along a fold line 57 which is disposed in substantial alignment with fold line 52.

In order to form the carrier as shown in FIGS. 1 and 7 from the blank depicted in FIG. 2, an application of glue is first made to the transverse partition strips 18 and 36, to the glue flaps 23 and 55, and to the center portions of side walls 3 and 34 as shown by stippling in FIG. 2. Thereafter the transverse partition strut 21 and its glue flaps 23 and 26 are elevated and folded upwardly and toward the left along fold lines 22 and 24. This operation causes the glue flap 23 to adhere to the side wall 3 and causes those portions of the transverse partition strut 21 which are adjacent fold line 22 to adhere to the transverse partition strip 18. Simultaneously transverse partition strut 51 and its glue flaps 53 and 55 are elevated and folded downwardly and generally toward the left to cause the glue flap 55 to adhere to the center portion of side wall 34 and also to cause those portions of transverse partition strut 51 which are adjacent to fold line 52 to adhere to partition strip 36. Upon completion of these two folding operations, the blank appears as shown in FIG. 3.

An application of glue is then made to the inner surfaces of outer handle panels 16 and 28 and to the longitudinal downwardly extending part 48 of inner handle panel 41 as indicated by stippling in FIG. 3. Following this application of glue, end wall panels 7 and 39 and handle panels 11 and 41 are elevated and folded toward the left along fold lines 8 and 40. This operation causes the inner handle panels 11 and 41 to adhere to the inner surfaces of outer handle panels 16 and 28 respectively and causes the aligned but separated fold lines 44 and 45 between inner handle panels 11 and 41 to overlie the fold line 29. This folding operation also causes the longitudinal portion 48 of handle panel 41 to adhere to glue flap 53. The blank then appears as shown in FIG. 4.

An application of glue is then made to portions of riser panels 9 and 31 as indicated by stippling in FIG. 4. Thereafter the riser panels 9 and 31 are elevated and folded toward the right along the fold lines 10 and 32 respectively to occupy the positions depicted in FIG. 5. Of course this folding operation causes the upper ends of riser panels 9 and 31 adjacent fold line 29 to adhere to the inner surfaces of outer handle panels 16 and 28 and to the left hand end portions of inner handle panels 11 and 41.

With the blank in the form shown in FIG. 5, the bottom wall 1 is collapsed along its medial fold line 4 by simply folding the upper portion of bottom wall 1 forwardly and downwardly to cause the bottom panel 1 to appear as shown in FIG. 6.

The blank as shown in FIG. 6 is then given an application of glue as indicated by stippling in that figure. Specifically, glue is applied to riser panels 9 and 31 to the inner surfaces of handle panels 11 and 41, to the downwardly extending part 13 of panel 11 and to a por tion of longitudinal panel 48 as well as to the glue flap 49. A spot of glue is disposed on panel 48 as shown at 48a. With the blank glued as shown in FIG. 6, side wall 3 and all partsassociated therewith which are disposed above the fold line 29 and the fold line 44,45 are elevated and folded forwardly to cause the blank to ap pear as shown in FIG. 7.

This operation causes the riser panels 9 and 31 to adhere to each other and also causes the inner handle panel 11 to adhere to inner handle panel 41 while securing part 13 of panel 11 to longitudinal panel 48 and also adheres the glue flap 26 to longitudinal panel 48 while glue flap 49 is secured to the corresponding edge of bottom panel 1.

The final folding operation as is well known causes the locking notch 3 to fall into coincidence with locking notch 47. Thus in order to set up the carrier as shown in collapsed form in FIG. 7, it is simply necessary to hold end wall panels and 33 against movement toward the left by exerting a force along the medial edges 10, 32 thereof and by simultaneously applying a force toward the left to the end edges 8 and 40 of side walls 3 and 34 respectively. This operation causes the side walls 3 and 34 to move apart and causes the end wall panels 5 and 33 to occupy the same plane. End wall panels 7 and 39 also Swing into the same plane. When locking notch 14,47 engages an end edge of bottom wall 1 the carrier is locked in set-up condition and appears as shown in FIG. 1.

From the above description it is apparent that the carrier is unusually sturdy and strong in a transverse direction due to the fact that on one side of the longitudinal partition and handle structure, a transverse partition strut 2lby virtue of its glue flaps 23 and 26 is securely affixed to the longitudinal panel 48 which forms a part of the longitudinal partition and handle structure and to the side wall 3. Similarly on the other side of the longitudinal handle and partition structure, the trans verse strut 51 is disposed. Glue flap 55 secures the strut 51 to side wall 34 and glue flap 53 secures the strut 51 along its other side edge to the longitudinal panel 48 so that both side walls and handle are effectively biased. Furthermore, the carrier is unusually strong in a longitudinal direction by virtue of the fact that the longitudinal panel 48 is secured in overlapping relationship with respect to the riser panels 9 and 31 as is apparent from FIGS. 4 and 5. Thus by the invention, a basket style carrier is rendered sufficiently strong and sturdy to accommodate large primary packages such as bottles whose contents weight 32, 48 and even 64 ounces.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

I claim:

1. A collapsible article carrier formed from a single unitary blank and comprising a bottom wall, upstanding side walls foldably joined to opposite side edges of said bottom wall, end walls foldably joined to the end edges of said side walls, a multi-ply longitudinal partition and handle structure foldably joined at its ends to said end walls along vertical fold lines disposed medially of said end walls and including a pair of outer handle panels foldably joined along one end edge to a pair of riser panels which are foldably joined to the adjacent end wall medially thereof at one end of the carrier and a pair of inner handle panels which are foldably joined at one end thereof to the end wall at the opposite end of the carrier along vertical medial fold lines, one of said inner handle panels having a longitudinal panel 1 which extends downwardly toward and adjacent said 1 bottom wall and longitudinally into overlapping relation with the riser panels at said one end of the carrier,

cross partition strips foldably joined at their ends along 1 vertical fold lines to said side walls and to said longitudinal partition and handle structure to define a plurality. of article receiving cells on each side of said longitudinal partition and handle structure, a transverse-partition strut foldably joined to each of said cross partition strips along a downwardly inclined fold line at the outer I end thereof, said transverse partition struts extending downwardly toward and adjacent said bottom wall and also extending inwardly to said longitudinal partition and handle structure, and a glue flap foldably joined to each side edge of each of said struts and secured in flat face contacting relation to said side walls and to said longitudinal panel respectively so as to provide transverse reinforcement for the carrier and to aid in separating adjacent articles from each other.

2. A collapsible article carrier formed from a single unitary blank and comprising a bottom walhupstanding side walls foldably joined to opposite side edges of said bottom wall, end walls foldably joined to the end edges of said side walls, a multi-ply longitudinal partition and handle structure foldably joined at its ends to said end walls along vertical fold lines disposed medially of said end walls, cross partition strips foldably joined at their ends along vertical fold lines to said side walls and to said longitudinal partition and handle structure to define a plurality of article receiving cells on each side of said longitudinal partition and handle structure, a transverse partition strut foldably joined to each of said cross partition strips along a downwardly inclined fold line at the outer end thereof, said transverse partition struts extending downwardly toward and adjacent said bottom wall and also extending in-.

wardly to said longitudinal partition and handle structure, and a glue flap foldably joined to each side edge of each of said struts and secured to said side walls and to said longitudinal partition and handle structure respectively so as to provide transverse reinforcement for the carrier and to aid in separating adjacent articles from each other, the outer glue flap which is foldably joined along the outer side edge of each of said struts being foldably joined along its top edge to the adjacent side wall and the fold line along the top edge of each of said outer glue flaps being disposed in substantial alignment with the associated downwardly inclined fold line when the carrier is collapsed.

3. A collapsible article carrier formed from a single unitary blank and comprising a bottom wall, upstanding side walls foldably joined to opposite side edges of said bottom wall, end walls foldably joined to the end edges of said side walls, a multi-ply longitudinal partition and handle structure foldably joined at its ends to said end walls along vertical fold lines disposed medially of said end walls, cross partition strips foldably joined at their ends along vertical fold lines to said side walls and to said longitudinal partition and handle structure to define a plurality of article receiving cells on each side of said longitudinal partition and handle structure, a transverse partition strut foldably joined to each of said cross partition strips along a downwardly inclined fold line at the outer end thereof, said transverse partition struts extending downwardly toward and adjacent said bottom wall and also extending inwardly to said longitudinal partition and handle structure, and a glue flap foldably joined to each side edge of each of said struts and secured to said side walls and to said longitudinal partition and handle structure respectively so as to provide transverse reinforcement for the carrier and to aid in separating adjacent articles from each other, the fold line between the outer end of each of said partition strips and the associated side wall being disposed in substantial coincidence with the fold line between the associated transverse partition strut and glue flap.

4. An article carrier blank comprising a bottom wall, a first side wall foldably joined to one side edge of said bottom wall, a first pair of end wall panels foldably joined respectively to the end edges of said one side wall, a pair of riser panels foldably joined respectively to said first pair of end wall panels along the edges thereof remote from said first side wall, a first outer handle panel foldably joined at one end to one of said pair of riser panels along afold line which is aligned with the fold line between said one riser panel and the associated end wall panel, a first inner handle panel forming an extension of the other of said riser panels, a first cross partitition strip foldably joined at one end thereof to said first outer handle panel and at the other end thereof to said first side wall along vertical fold lines, a first transverse partition strut foldably joined to said first cross partition strip and disposed between said first outer handle panel and said first inner handle panel and separated therefrom, a second outer handle panel foldably joined to said' first outer handle panel along the top edges thereof, a second inner handle panel foldably joined to said first inner handle panel along the top edges thereof, a longitudinal panel forming an integral downward extension of said second inner handle panel, a third riser panel foldably joined to an end edge of said second handle panel along a fold line aligned with said one end of said first outer handle panel, a second pair of end wall panels foldably joined respectively to said third riser panel along a fold line which is aligned with said end edge of said second outer handle panel and to an edge of said longitudinal panel along a fold line which is aligned with the fold line between the other of said first pair of riser panels and its associated end wall panel, a second side wall foldably joined at its end edges with edges of said second pair of end wall panels which are remote from said third riser panel and from said longitudinal panel respectively, a second cross partition strip foldably joined at one end thereof to said second outer handle panel and at the other end thereof to said second side wall along vertical fold lines, and a second transverse partition strut foldably joined to said second cross partition strip and disposed adjacent said first partition strut between said second outer handle panel and said second inner handle panel and separated therefrom.

5. A blank according to claim 4 wherein a glue flap is foldably joined to each side edge of each of said transverse partition struts and wherein the fold line between each side wall and the associated glue flap is aligned with the fold line between the associated cross partition strip and transverse partition strut. 

1. A collapsible article carrier formed from a single unitary blank and comprising a bottom wall, upstanding side walls foldably joined to opposite side edges of said bottom wall, end walls foldably joined to the end edges of said side walls, a multi-ply longitudinal partition and handle structure foldably joined at its ends to said end walls along vertical fold lines disposed medially of said end walls and including a pair of outer handle panels foldably joined along one end edge to a pair of riser panels which are foldably joined to the adjacent end wall medially thereof at one end of the carrier and a pair of inner handle panels which are foldably joined at one end thereof to the end wall at the opposite end of the carrier along vertical medial fold lines, one of said inner handle panels having a longitudinal panel which extends downwardly toward and adjacent said bottom wall and longitudinally into overlapping relation with the riser panels at said one end of the carrier, cross partition strips foldably joined at their ends along vertical fold lines to said side walls and to said longitudinal partition and handle structure to define a plurality of article receiving cells on each side of said longitudinal partition and handle structure, a transverse partition strut foldably joined to each of said cross partition strips along a downwardly inclined fold line at the outer end thereof, said transverse partition struts extending downwardly toward and adjacent said bottom wall and also extending inwardly to said longitudinal partition and handle structure, and a glue flap foldably joined to each side edge of each of said struts and secured in flat face contacting relation to said side walls and to said longitudinal panel respectively so as to provide transverse reinforcement for the carrier and to aid in separating adjacent articles from each other.
 2. A collapsible article carrier formed from a single unitary blank and comprising a bottom wall, upstanding side walls foldably joined to opposite side edges of said bottom wall, end walls foldably joined to the end edges of said side walls, a multi-ply longitudinal partition and handle structure foldably joined at its ends to said end walls along vertical fold lines disposed medially of said end walls, cross partition strips foldably joined at their ends along vertical fold lines to said side walls and to said longitudinal partition and handle structure to define a plurality of article receiving cells on each side of said longitudinal partition and handle structure, a transverse partition strut foldably joined to each of said cross partition strips along a downwardly inclined fold line at the outer end thereof, said transverse partition struts extending downwardly toward and adjacent said bottom wall and also extending inwardly to said longitudinal partition and handle structure, and a glue flap foldably joined to each side edge of each of said struts and secured to said side walls and to said longitudinal partition and handle structure respectively so as to provide transverse reinforcement for the carrier and to aid in separating adjacent articles from each other, the outer glue flap which is foldably joined along the outer side edge of each of said struts being foldably joined along its top edge to the adjacent side wall and the fold line along the top edge of each of said outer glue flaps being disposed in substantial alignment with the associated downwardly inclined fold line when the carrier is collapsed.
 3. A collapsible article carrier formed from a single unitary blank and comprising a bottom wall, upstanding side walls foldably joined to opposite side edges of said bottom wall, end walls foldably joined to the end edges of said side walls, a multi-ply longitudinal partition and handle structure foldably joined at its ends to said end walls along vertical fold lines disposed medially of said end walls, cross partition strips foldably joined at their ends along vertical fold lines to said side walls and to said longitudinal partition and handle structure to define a plurality of article receiving cells on each side of said longitudinal partition and handle structure, a transverse partition strut foldably joined to each of said cross partition strips along a downwardly inclined fold line at the outer end thereof, said transverse partition struts extending downwardly toward and adjacent said bottom wall and also extending inwardly to said longitudinal partition and handle structure, and a glue flap foldably joined to each side edge of each of said struts and secured to said side walls and to said longitudinal partition and handle structure respectively so as to provide transverse reinforcement for the carrier and to aid in separating adjacent articles from each other, the fold line between the outer end of each of said partition strips and the associated side wall being disposed in substantial coincidence with the fold line between the associated transverse partition strut and glue flap.
 4. An article carrier blank comprising a bottom wall, a first side wall foldably joined to one side edge of said bottom wall, a first pair of end wall panels foldably joined respectively to the end edges of said one side wall, a pair of riser panels foldably joined respectively to said first pair of end wall panels along the edges thereof remote from said first side wall, a first outer handle panel foldably joined at one end to one of said pair of riser panels along a fold line which is aligned with the fold line between said one riser panel and the associated end wall panel, a first inner handle panel forming an extension of the other of said riser panels, a first cross partitition strip foldably joined at one end thereof to said first outer handle panel and at the other end thereof to said first side wall along vertical fold lines, a first transverse partition strut foldably joined to said first cross partition strip and disposed between said first outer handle panel and said first inner handle panel and separated therefrom, a second outer handle panel foldably joined to said first outer handle panel along the top edges thereof, a second inner handle panel foldably joined to said first inner handle panel along the top edges thereof, a longitudinal panel forming an integral downward extension of said second inner handle panel, a third riser panel foldably joined to an end edge of said second handle panel along a fold line aligned with said one end of said first outer handle panel, a second pair of end wall panels foldably joined respectively to said third riser panel along a fold line which is aligned with said end edge of said second outer handle panel and to an edge of said longitudinal panel along a fold line which is aligned with the fold line between the other of said first pair of riser panels and its associated end wall panel, a second side wall foldably joined at its end edges with edges of said second pair of end wall panels which are remote from said third riser panel and from said longitudinal panel respectively, a second cross partition strip foldably joined at one end thereof to said second outer handle panel and at the other end thereof to said second side wall along vertical fold lines, and a second transverse partition strut foldably joined to said second cross partition strip and disposed adjacent said first partition strut between said second outer handle panel and said second inner handle panel and separated therefrom.
 5. A blank according to claim 4 wherein a glue flap is foldably joined to each side edge of each of said transverse partition struts and wherein the fold line between each side wall and the associated glue flap is aligned with the fold line between the associated cross Partition strip and transverse partition strut. 